Learning to be Quick to Listen

Sin often infiltrates our lives not with a grand, dramatic entrance, but through subtle, almost imperceptible shifts in our thinking and behavior. We become experts at rationalizing our choices, finding countless justifications for actions that subtly deviate from God's will. This tendency is deeply intertwined with relativistic thinking, where objective truth and moral absolutes are blurred, allowing us to define "good" and "bad" based on personal convenience or societal norms rather than divine command. What might once have been clearly recognized as a transgression slowly becomes an acceptable "gray area," a minor fault, or even a necessary evil. We convince ourselves that our intentions are good, or that the circumstances somehow excuse our actions, effectively blinding ourselves to the gradual accumulation of spiritual debt. The insidious nature of sin's infiltration is precisely its quiet, unannounced arrival. We might engage in gossip, dis...

In his teachings, Pope Francis often warns Christians of the subtle temptation to slip toward worldliness and power, a temptation that leads many to seek Jesus only to fulfill material desires. This is not just a concern for the distant past—it is a daily temptation for all of us who make up the Church. The pope’s reflections on this issue are grounded in the Gospel account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (John 6:22-29), where the crowd seeks Jesus, not out of religious awe or devotion, but for their own material benefit. Pope Francis explains that, just like the people in the Gospel, many of us may be drawn to Jesus for the wrong reasons. We might be looking for solutions to our immediate problems, seeking His help in the hope of receiving material blessings or relief from our struggles. However, when we approach Jesus with such a mindset, we risk missing the deeper, transformative message of the Gospel. Seeking Jesus for Transformation, Not for Gain The pope warn...